Category Archives: Airlift Productions RADIO work

It’s A Wonderful Life ~ At Airlift Productions NOLA

Its-A-Wonderful-LifeAs I pause to reflect on this Christmas Eve 2015, I am ever so thankful to have been blessed to live this most authentic life in this most authentic city… in the most interesting of times.

While way too many today commute to jobs they really don’t like, working at hours and tasks they really don’t care for, I’ve been fortunate to spend every single day of my life through the past thirty years living between the arts and the sciences. In New Orleans, Louisiana! 

Music, Theater, Radio, Television and high-end, state-of-the-art technology all collide at hyper speed in the land of my dreams at Airlift Productions in NOLA.

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Airlift Productions, New Orleans

It’s where the warmth of analogue lives … and the lightning speed of digital delivers. Anywhere in the world!

And I get to create digital magic and give clarion focus to dreams and visions with the most fantastic collection of gifted people anywhere on earth.

Just a few cases in point from just the past month here at the Airlift studios

Jake Landry of Right Lane Bandits Records At Airlift Productions NOLA, December 2015
Jake Landry of Right Lane Bandits Records At Airlift Productions NOLA, December 2015

Let’s start with music. Jake Landry, front man for the Right Lane Bandits, is one gifted spirit, I’ll tell you. He’s a cross between Jason Mraz and John Mayer, with some crooner Michael Buble’ thrown into the mix.  

Together with his running partner Paul Piazza on backup vocals and harp/harmonica, Jake paid a visit to Airlift Productions just this past Saturday to lay-down tracks for one of his originals – “Playing You”.

Oh, these women.

*** Jake Landry & Paul Piazza “PLAYING YOU” December 2015 ***

They want to come back with the rest of the boys to beef it up a bit with bass, drums and keyboards, but even at this level, the musicianship, style, and talent are just off the hook, dontchathink?

Meanwhile, Christmastime trolls the internet.

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Betsy, Taylor & Tyler cozy-up to the Airlift Studio mics for a Holiday Classic

Tasked by a Chicago-based advertising agency to coordinate sessions and record the audio for a web-based “politically correct Holiday greeting card”, I went to work.

Playing-off the original “Deck the Halls” tune, and inserting a few terrifically fun and funny interruptions accented by sleigh bells, I recorded this new holiday classic with a trio of very talented professors from our Loyola University here in New Orleans. Now playing at an internet near you.

** A “Politically Correct” Deck the Halls from Airlift NOLA **

And as if music weren’t enough, I get to warm-up the mics for myself as well. Gee, you can take the guy out of the radio… but you can’t take the radio out of the guy!

Mike Church putting in another day at the office on the VERITAS Network .... with some help from Airlift Mike
Mike Church putting in another day at the office on the VERITAS Network …. with some help from Airlift Mike

My relationship with the famous (or infamous, depending on how you choose to view him) Mike Church continues. Mike, of course, is known around the planet for having had the longest-running show in the history of Sirius/XM satellite radio, and has just recently launched his own network and channel.

Yours truly has been tagged to set the pace for the Crusade!

As Imaging Voice & Producer for Mike’s VERITAS Network and the Crusade Channel, I get to throw pop culture (?), movies, television and news makers into the audio Cuisinart – and hit the blend button!

** The King Dude’s ‘Blazing Saddles’ homage re-joiner **

Or imagine, if you can, mixing former Ambassador John Bolton with Homer Simpson — and adding Gregorian chants?

** Mike Church Imaging for the Crusade On Veritas **

My, my, my… this “Wonderful Life” of mine is certainly never boring.

And always a challenge.  But forever a gift!

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Airlift Mike working the Children’s Hospital Telethon in NOLA on WDSU-TV

To have found this most unique way to take all the skills and talents that I was born with – and then blend them into my own business and have it all play out from this most fascinating city is, to my way of seeing it, the most authentic way to live a life. 

And it is my fervent Christmas & New Year’s  wish and prayer for the reader of these words that, if you haven’t yet, you somehow find yours!

Merry Christmas! And here’s to Living YOUR Dream in 2016.

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LizzRantze“My experience with Airlift Productions was top notch from the start. My company is based in Los Angeles and I had a client that needed to do a last minute VO session in New Orleans. Micheal was incredibly knowledgeable and accommodating, not to mention a blast to work with! Our session turned out beautifully.”  ~ LIZZ RANTZE, Executive Producer, Rantze + Raves Productions, Los Angeles, CA 

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 To Communicate is the Beginning of Understanding.

                              Airlift Productions Communicates

Mike Church & Mike Ziants Take It Down To The Church … Via Veritas

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Mike Church putting in another day at the office on the Veritas Radio Network

Mike Church, the longest-running conservative talk show host in the history of Sirius satellite radio is now on to the most exciting and provocative phase of his career.

And yours truly, Airlift Mike, is most fortunate and blessed to be his running partner in Crusade & Veritas.

You see, Mike & I both believe that what is ailing the “body politic”, as well as American society today, is a collective “turning of the back” on Christ the King and the Law of His Gospel!

I know, I know, I hear you … “But in polite social circles, in order to gain and keep friends”, you say (or create successful radio), “One should never discuss Politics, Sex, or Religion”. To those who still today adhere to this quaint 20th century saying, I say …

MikeChurchFacebookFunMeme“Politics” ~ Rush Limbaugh; “Sex” ~ Howard Stern; and now, Crusading with Faith into the most volatile and incendiary of the three, America will now add the name of Mike Church!

“VERITAS” in Latin means “Truth”. But this is truth with 21st century swag, relevant relate-ability, pop culture (?) and style.

VeritasNetworkLogoMikeChurch.comAirliftProductionsNOLAAs a devout and devoted Roman Catholic boy of Faith, Mr. Church has launched THE CRUSADE CHANNEL and THE VERITAS NETWORK … available FREE 24-7-365 on everyone’s digital devices. Stream it anywhere and anytime to your PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad or laptop here — www.MikeChurch.com.

And Mike, known affectionately as “King Dude” to those who know and love him – and there are tens of thousands – has now tagged yours truly to act as Imaging Voice for this exciting new adventure. So, I shoulder the awesome, and fun, responsibility of setting the tone for this mission. Sample a montage of our initial efforts here …

I first met Mike earlier this century through our mutual radio comrades-in-arms Bo Walker & Don Banks, and have pitched-in through the years to help narrate and give cohesive voice to his patriotic & conservative films & DVDs.

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But this Crusade – this championing of the Human Spirit, Faith & Truth – will prove to be really …. something …. else altogether!

Pray for us.

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Airlift Mike On-Camera for Tim Weston, TLW Productions & Seacor Marine Worldwide

 

“We’ve worked with Mike for almost 15 years, both as voice over and on-camera talent in more than 50 films.  Not only is he a great guy and a super talent,  but he has the coolest recording studio in the South.”~TIM WESTON, President TLW Productions, NOLA 

 

 

 

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Airlift Productions ~ Audio Alchemy from New Orleans since 1984

Halloween Tricks, Treats & Airlift Mike in NOLA

HalloweenMovieWhat a totally fascinating time Halloween is in New Orleans.

As I walk the Shadow (Airlift’s trusty mascot) through the Bonnabel subdivision here outside NOLA, we both find ourselves scratching our respective heads in wonderment.

I mean, this is the only time of year, and probably the only place in America where, on a morning dog walk in the crisp (?) fall air, you’ll ever find statues of the blessed Virgin Mary …. peacefully coexisting alongside Freddy Kruger, Mike Meyers (from the ‘Halloween’ movie), skeletons and vampires!

VirginMaryStatueAs faith-filled Catholic brethren all across NOLA  put on a show for the kids, while Mary, Yeshua, and Papa Joe share in the laughs & fun from ‘the other side’. 

Suffer the children to me?

Meanwhile, Airlift Productions & yours truly soldier-on with a few tricks & treats of our own.

Tasked by serial entrepreneur Dean St. Pierre to re-image and brand his Metairie nightclub yet again, it was my duty this past weekend to create a couple radio :30s for – wait for it – the NEW place to see & be seen (and occasionally obscene) ENCORE!

Flying-up the flagpole (broadcast tower) this week in NOLA on B-97, Bayou 95.7 and Magic 101.9 is this goodie for Saturday night’s epic Halloween bash at the club….

** Halloween @ Encore, courtesy Micheal Ziants & Airlift **

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Airlift Mike & The Shadow at Airlift Productions, where Every day is ‘Take your doggie to work’ day

Fun stuff, huh? With soundbites from the original Frankenstein, Freddy Kruger’s laugh, Chucky & the Scream dude playing cameos, all supported by Psycho music stabs and screams. Yowza!

Even The Shadow gave it a ‘two paws up +’ rating.

Although some of the thundering, off the charts, LOUD mixes screaming from the Airlift studio monitors, while working on the spot, did make his ears do some pretty funny things. 🙂

And just one other piece to rotate with the Halloween spot, and further brand the new image for ENCORE is this one – with an assist-on-the-play from my old pal Borat?

** Sacha Baron Cohen & Airlift Mike for ENCORE ~ OMG **

Yes, it sure has been a pretty interesting – and busy – fall around the Airlift Studios campus. Indeed.

And I haven’t even mentioned the Los Angeles Rantze & Raves phone-patch audio V/O session for ‘Good Dog 2.0’ … or the new Mike Church radio thing as he exits Sirius Satellite radio after 13 years to begin … The New Crusade!

Catch-up with us when you can at Airlift Productions here in NOLA.

We’ll keep the mics hot for you.

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MikeChurchRecordsWithAirliftProductionsNOLA“When I need BIG ‘I-know-that-guy’s-voice!’ sound for any production I am working on, the first call I make is to Airlift Mike.  Micheal’s penetrating vocals and second-to-none production quality give my movie & audio feature projects the instant respectability they need.   If you want to sound like a pro, meaning no one gives a second thought to your audio because it is so well executed, you want to call Airlift!”

— MIKE CHURCH, World-Famous Sirius/XM Talk Show Host, Founding Father Film Maker, Writer & Producer of ‘The Spirit of ’76’ and ‘The Road to Independence’

 

 

Napoleon Hill, Star Wars & Airlift Mike

"Think and Grow Rich" Author, a young NAPOLEON HILL
“Think and Grow Rich” Author, a young NAPOLEON HILL

As the great 20th century American thinker Napoleon Hill so eloquently reminded us all – the IMAGINATION is the Workshop of the Soul! And therein, I use power tools.

You see, one of the many things that separates me from the one-thousand-and-one other guys who offer VoiceOver services on the internet today is that I not only operate a genuine, bonafide, tricked-out full recording studio, but, in many cases, I also get the opportunity to WRITE and CREATE – from the ground up – the V-O copy I read. 

How thrilling to put my OWN words into my OWN mouth!

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Airlift Productions’ Micheal Ziants putting in another day at the office.

The power tools? Well, those would be meditation and exercise. Properly focused and fine-tuned, these two aid and assist in the entire creative pursuit, as they feed the imagination from the deep wells of the subconscious, which then directly grease the wheels of the entire writing process.

Too deep? A classic case in point would be the exercise of this past week. 

Tasked by running partner Nathan Ales to create, write, voice, and produce thirty seconds of audio for Baton Rouge, La. television & radio to promote a Laser Tag outfit … I went to work. And can we make it “Star-Wars-y”?!?

Oh, sure.

*** Airlift Mike’s “Star-Wars-y” Laser Tag of Baton Rouge ***

1401389338528328800Working within the 29.5 seconds ‘Goalposts’, that’s a lot to accomplish: Cop a James-Earl-Jones-ish attitude & pitch, grab some cinematic french horns, make ‘Sky-walk’ into a verb,  draw an analogy to paintball challenges, state a very direct call to action, and finish with an ‘out-of-this-world’ tag – literally.

** Laser Tag of Baton Rouge :30 Television, along with running partners Video Wizard Todd Schmidt & Sales Ace Nathan Ales **

Now, how much fun is that?

From the ‘Workshop of the Soul’ – to countless tens of thousands of ears and eyes via the magic of technologies (radio, TV & the Internet) that weren’t even on the radar when Napoleon Hill was born.

Now, how magical is that?

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Airlift Productions, New Orleans

 

Work? Excuse me? That’s what my coal miner brothers have been doing their entire lives, not me. For I have made my vacation … my vocation! The only ‘mining’ I do is within the ‘mind’ ~ and the ‘Workshop of the Soul’.

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The late David Menasche, author of “The Priority List” (soon to be a major motion picture from Warner Bros), recording with Micheal Ziants at Airlift Productions NOLA in 2012

” I would like to thank Micheal Ziants & Airlift Productions for making the recording of the audio version of my book such a pleasure.  Not only is Micheal an incredible audio engineer, he is my new best friend.  This guy is one of the coolest cats I have ever had the honor of meeting.  He made me comfortable, he made me feel talented, and he actually made my book into a product I can actually imagine people enjoying listening to.  So far, the opportunity to work with Micheal on a future project is my best incentive to write another book.  If any of you out there ever need a professional to help you with sound recordings, contact Micheal Ziants at Airlift Productions immediately!”

— the late DAVID MENASCHE, Author, Educator of Young Minds, Brain Cancer Activist, Major Mensch

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Airlift Productions ~ Audio Alchemy from NOLA since 1984

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Airlift Productions Spices-Up N’awlins Airwaves

Just like a good gumbo, a memorable radio jingle has to have the just-right ingredients to make it POP! Talented musicians + a catchy tune + the magic of a kids’ chorus = a Jingle that tingles!  (too much?)

Frere Jean Salt-Free Cajun Seasonings, available all throughout southeast Louisiana, and on line, visited Airlift Productions NOLA to make their products "Sing"!
Frere Jean Salt-Free Cajun Seasonings, available all throughout southeast Louisiana, and on line, visited Airlift Productions NOLA to make their products “Sing”!

Well, Frere Jean’s got it Goin’ On!

One week ago today the Airlift Productions Studios were hummin’ and buzzin’ as, together, we cooked-up one serious gumbo.

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Jake Landry & Paul Piazza – of Right Lane Bandits – Record Jingles At Airlift Productions NOLA, Sept. 2015

Jake Landry & Paul Piazza, front men for the notorious (and wickedly talented) Right Lane Bandits showed-up to lay-down guitars, tambourines. harmonica, and vocals as Ingredient #1.

 

*** First things first ~ Landry guitars + Piazza’s Harp – Wow! ***

Frere Jean's Kids' Chorus ~ Madisyn, Dayton & Daylan Having a Ball at Airlift Productions NOLA
Frere Jean’s Kids’ Chorus ~ Madisyn, Dayton & Daylan Having a Ball at Airlift Productions NOLA

Enter Madisyn, Dayton & Daylan –

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Brother John Rodrigue Laying-down “Yep! ‘Dat’s ‘da One!”

Frere Jean’s owners’ grandchildren  – to punch-up the message with exuberant shouts & fun giggles – Ingredient #2.

Last, but certainly not least, add the voice of co-owner and namesake front-man for the organization – Brother John Rodrigue – tagging the whole effort with his “Yep! ‘Dat’s ‘da One!” at the tail – Ingredient #3.

*** Frere Jean Full Sing :15 Jingle recorded @ Airlift Productions ***

Mix well, add Cajun seasoning to taste… and you’ve got one fun, catchy, memorable jingle! Think “the Von Trapp Family meets Rockin Dopsie”.

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Broadcast Veteran – and Actor – Micheal Ziants, plying his trade at the Airlift Studios

Oh, OK, I guess I left out one ingredient. And that would be some nondescript announcer dude doing all the stuff that would be impossible to do in a jingle – descriptive info and a definitive call to action … Airlift Mike closes the sale.

** Airlift’s Micheal Ziants delivers the Jingle ‘donut’ pitch **

A good jingle has to capture the essence of a company, what they’re really all about. And with a product name like “Frere Jean”, we had to emphasize Cajun-French heritage along with the qualities of Family & Brotherhood!

How’d we do?

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(L-R) NBC’s “The Voice” Finalist Terry McDermott, Greg DiLeo, Micheal Ziants at Airlift Productions NOLA

“I have been recording at Airlift Productions since 2010, and I completed my album in 2012.  Micheal Ziants was a pleasure to work with, and he took my creative process and turned it into something I am proud to have on iTunes for sale.  Mike was like a second musical force in the room, moving the process along until we had a finished product I was happy with and proud to play. And he always brought  the most beautiful sounds out of my instruments.  I have a home studio with ProTools and all the bells and whistles added on, but I can’t get the warmth and presence that he pulls out of my recordings.  Kudos to Airlift.”

~ GREG DILEO, New Orleans’ “Legal-Minute” Attorney by day, Big Easy Troubadour & Recording Artist by night  

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To Communicate is the Beginning of Understanding.

                                     Airlift Productions Communicates   

Yin~Yang & Early Fall Around The Airlift Productions Studios

imagesYin me, Yang me. From the ridiculous to the sublime, and everything in between, it sure has been a rather interesting late summer and early fall around the Airlift Studios here in NOLA.

 

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Airlift Mike – like the local fireman down at the firehouse – ready to take the call

As footballs fly, leaves fall, and political mud gets slung, far be it from Airlift & me to not get a little on us.  And just as the time-honored Yin~Yang symbol reminds us:  Every Thing contains it’s opposite! We’ll never have the concepts of Heat without Cold, Up without Down, or a Hero without a Villain.

Recording studios and VoiceOver dudes and dudesses walk the same path… especially in 2015.  Welcome to my ‘Silver Linings Playbook’.

Working alongside Nathan Ales and Todd Schmidt, lately we’ve tackled some pretty attention-grabbing television, for clients as diverse as high-end furniture outlets … 

** Georgian Furnishing & Berger Home Labor Day Sale, asking the question “What will the Future Look Like?”  ~ Ziants/Schmidt **

… to one-stop-shopping for plumbing, lighting & generators.  And with the Louisiana State University Tigers having to cancel their home-opener last weekend on account of lightning & rain for the first time in nearly a hundred years, and sending over 100, 000 home early, the boys and I were almost prescient with this one ….

** Southland Plumbing’s ‘Best Seat in the House’ TV :30 ~ voiced by Micheal Ziants, Video Wizardry by Todd Schmidt **

Nathan Ales, Sales Dude Extraordinaire
Nathan Ales, Sales Dude Extraordinaire
Todd Schmidt, Video Wizard
Todd Schmidt, Video Wizard

I just LOVE working with these characters. Nathan Ales and I go way back to radio days at Q-93 here in NOLA, I was afternoon air personality and he was super sales dude.  Todd and I met only last year, but that meeting was on the common ground where creative sparks fly and alchemy & magic live. This guy just gets it. He’ll go into the field with camera in-hand and then edit, imagineer, and cut ‘n paste masterpieces! 

But as they say in the advertising field – “That’s not all!”

The Yin~Yang continues.

The call came in from Manhattan about another job slated to air in California – San Francisco, to be precise. Andy would write the copy, cast the talent (four separate actors), the agency is in Boston – are you following so far – and yours truly, sitting here in NOLA at the Airlift Productions Studios would merely be the button-pusher engineer to make it all happen. 

Sixteen edits in a :30 spot? Really. Airing now in San Francisco is this goodie on behalf of the Armanino crowd…

** Armanino Radio :30, produced by Micheal Ziants at Airlift **

And to wrap-up the ‘Yin~Yang’ fall post, as the Louisiana Governor’s race looms – Trick or Treat – the call came into the ‘firehouse’ for some help with some boys (ironically, also in San Francisco) heading-up an Anti-David Vitter TV ad campaign.  Oh boy, oh joy!

Jamie Neumann Records VoiceOver/Vice-Over at Airlift Productions NOLA
Jamie Neumann Records VoiceOver/Vice-Over at Airlift Productions NOLA

Could I help out recording NYC-schooled, NOLA-born ‘n bred Jamie Neumann reading the riot act?…. shouting ‘fire’ in the crowded political theater… calling, in effect, the front-runner a whore-monger?!?!

Oh, sure, why not.  Sample just a taste of the phone-patched V-O session from a week and a half back, here ….

** Jamie’s ‘Anybody But Vitter’ phone-patch session excerpt **

From New Orleans, a town that pretty much invented the ‘piano player in the cat house’ thing, and where the only thing folks like spicier and hotter than their food – is their politics, why not?

Besides, as a life-long political atheist and outsider, I say, “Hey, let the best man win!”

Fall in the air, fur flying, leaves falling, mud on the tires – and the flat screens. Things just seem to get more interesting all the time around the Airlift Productions Studios. More Interesting.  And hotter!

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HarlonMillerRecordsVoiceOverAtAirliftProductionsNOLA“Airlift is THE place to go for a top quality demo. With Mike behind the board you are in very capable hands. His vast knowledge and command of all things audio blends with his laid-back fun environment to bring out the best in any voice.  Airlift has the experience and all the tools necessary to make a voice-over reel that is on par with anything you would find in New York or LA!”

– – – HARLON MILLER, Voice-Actor

Hear Harlon’s most bodacious demo now at HarlonMiller.com 

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Airlift Productions ~ Audio Alchemy from NOLA since 1984!

Airlift Mike’s Anatomy Of A Radio Spot. That works.

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Micheal Ziants – New Orleans Voice Over Talent & Airlift Productions Studio Owner ~ 2012 promo pic

It’s kind of hard for me to get my mind around sometimes, but I recorded my very first radio commercial in late 1971 just outside Columbus, Ohio in a little town called Delaware. At WDLR radio. For, of all things – a funeral home.

Today, in 2015, just a few years later, and literally thousands of commercials later, I find myself still perfecting the craft. And at the same time marveling over the fact that while many things in the industry have changed, at the heart of the art will always be the need for attention, engagement, entertainment and imagination!

From reel-to-reel tape to mp3s, from broadcasts to podcasts, from mixing consoles to digital audio workstations – the tool kits have changed but the heart of the art remains the same.

And one of the things that I’ve relished about my now-thirty years of running Airlift Productions here in New Orleans is that many of my clients have entrusted me through the years to not only serve as the voice and producer of the commercials – but to WRITE them as well.

So, let’s play and have some fun, while at the same time, lace-up the Adidas for a jog down memory lane.

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Airlift Productions Client Legends Encore

This week I got my imagination racin’ and had quite the time writing copy, assembling bites, voicing and recording yet another radio thirty to help pack the night club known as Legends Encore here in the bosom of suburbia outside New Orleans.

Opening with all the intensity of a movie trailer, “Wine, Women & Song-2015 style” opens with battle axes on shields, horse whinnies, and sword play … and closes with Billy Crystal from “The Princess Bride” shouting “Have fun storming the castle!” The last thought? The night club’s name.

*** Airlift Mike’s Legends Encore Radio :30 ** July 2015 ***

Attention + Engagement +  Entertainment + Imagination = Memorable Radio.

See, while everyone else is trying to cram way too much information, and laundry lists of prices, items, phone numbers, addresses, yada, yada, yada …. Airlift Productions captures attention, has some fun, entertains, and delivers.

For client after client. Year after year.

Now, as to the ‘jog down memory lane’ part of the blog, just a couple quickie faves from the ’90s that I still get comments about….

ArchieManningCloseUpAirliftProductionsNOLAI loved working with Archie Manning. Yes, Peyton & Eli’s pop was a client of mine for a couple years as he and his partner Steve Smith,  a body builder from Mississippi, were co-owners of Archie Manning’s Gold’s Gym on Veterans Boulevard, and I wrote, voiced and produced all their radio ads for them.

I’ll never forget Archie rolling his eyes when I came up with this one: I’d be Santa Claus and he’d be the perennial kid  sitting on my knee during December in the mall telling me what he wanted for Christmas! Really.

We produced this radio spot together – old school, on reel-to-reel tape, no digital edits, in real time – at the Airlift Productions on Iberville Street location in 1992.

*** Airlift Mike with Archie Manning, “Gold’s Gym”, 1992 ***

ArchiePeytonEliManningAirliftProductionsNOLAGee, and the Saints wouldn’t even smell a Super Bowl until a couple decades + later.

Although his boys sure have seen their fair share, huh?

 

Yes, radio spots, in order to be effective, must prove WORTHY of the imagination of the listener. And show RESPECT for the time that they’re investing to listen.

OK, just one more.

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Cajun Comic & New Orleans Voice Talent LUNO BORDELON plies his trade at Airlift Productions ~ along with some help from his pal T-Claude

One of my favorite people on planet Earth is this wacky Cajun from Lafayette, LA named Luno Bordelon. In fact, just this past Tuesday night, while in NOLA on business, he spent the night with us here in Metairie.

Well,  Luno and I were tasked with building the crowds at a local Mexican restaurant named “Jalapenos”, and I came up with the idea that this was “the Mexican restaurant that even a Cajun could love”. 

So, I played intrepid man-on-the-scene reporter and Luno was, well, Luno!  Check out the Lu-nacy here….

*** Airlift Mike & Luno Bordelon for “Jalapenos”  ***

Wow! And after all these years, 1971-2015, this is still FUN!

As a guy who fell in love with theater and the human voice as a kid, then a mad love affair with the radio and tape recorders – it’s still today almost as if people are paying me to play with my train set.

Yes, when it comes to advertising,  audio – and well-constructed radio ads – will always drive the emotional train. Allow me to be your engineer. All aboard! 🙂

AirliftProductionsRecordingStudioNewOrleans
Airlift Productions, New Orleans

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Millie with husband Rene’

“I have worked with Michael on a free lance basis for years. I continue to be amazed at his technical genius and amazing voice. His ability to make the average sound spectacular never ceases to amaze me! I have worked with Mike on a variety of      projects, and he gets it done right the first time, every time! It is ‘one stop shopping’ for first rate results!”

*** Millie Stouse Fuselier, New Orleans Queen of VoiceOver ***

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Airlift Productions ~ Audio Alchemy from NOLA since 1984!

SEX Continues To Sell Well At Airlift Productions

9c8980092c6baa5cb82835995209d93eIt occurs to me that my last several blogs have dealt with Life’s Rear View mirror (history), so let’s pump the brakes just a second and re-enter the 21st century – in fact, a poker-hot July at the Airlift Productions Studios in NOLA.

From the days of the Mad Men in the ’60s to today, let’s face it, SEX sells! Folks will part with their last dollar to find it, thrill to it, and hang on to it. The magic allure of sex is a well that the Madison Avenue crowd will always draw from.  Always.  And in all ways.

I was reminded of this just this past Wednesday as the phone rang from Madison Avenue in NYC looking for some help on a project for Yves Saint Laurent.  The boys were curious if I could find some time to record an actor while he was filming for HBO in New Orleans.

Ah-h, sure, let me check my schedule.

So, in the middle of cranking out some new night club commercials (also involving sex and the search for same), I agreed to record Edoardo Ballerini on behalf of Yves Saint Laurent for Moritz & Company in Manhattan.

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NYC-based Film/TV actor Edoardo Ballerini records VoiceOver for Yves Saint Laurent at Airlift Productions NOLA

Check this dude out. Perhaps you’ve already witnessed Edoardo’s talents on the Sopranos or Boardwalk Empire on HBO.  It was further work with the Home Box Office crowd that brought him to NOLA.  His new show, coming soon, is called “Quarry”.

What a stud. Edoardo blew through the Airlift Studio doors yesterday afternoon with all the swag of Johnny Depp … only with more talent! His zen-like, laser-focused mic techniques – honed through his recording of over one hundred audio books – were most impressive.  Listen here to just a bit of this week’s magic captured by the Airlift Productions mics …

** Edoardo Ballerini talks for Yves Saint Laurent, 7-16-15 **

Ballerini on-camera playing shoot-em-up
Ballerini on-camera playing shoot-em-up

This guy’s skill set is just off the charts.  Not only is he bilingual, fluent in Italian as well, but he studied Latin while on a scholarship – in Rome.  And his relaxed and self-assured looks allow him to fit into any era on film.  And play good guy or bad – with style.

In fact, as we discussed his life yesterday after our session, while he banged on my guitar in the Airlift Studios Green Room, I felt somewhat envious. Edoardo jets between NYC and NOLA, playing out the lives of fascinating folks on sets and sound stages …. while yours truly makes a living from the solitude of a dimly-lit, tricked-out digital cave.

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Airlift Productions, New Orleans

But it’s funny, ya know,  the Great Spirit has kept things in such perfect balance that one cannot lose one thing without gaining another. One door may close, but a window will open.

And a fine digital cave it is. And I have my privacy. And flying is for the birds.  And the inquisitive fingers of prying TSA agents.

Which brings us back to sex.

And it continues to sell – well at Airlift Productions.

** A couple recent radio thirties for the gang at Legends Encore from Airlift Mike & the Airlift Productions Studios **

 

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DaleAnthonySmithRecordsWithAirliftProductionsNOLA“It has been my pleasure to collaborate with Mike at Airlift on a variety of projects from sound effects for museum films, to narration for corporate and commercial work, to high end deeply layered radio spots.  In every case, he has maintained the highest standards of production that equal anything produced in New York or LA. He is dedicated, tireless, dependable and truly enjoys his work to the point of making the process actually fun. I would not hesitate to recommend his services to my colleagues or anyone seeking a totally professional sound track.”  ~ DALE ANTHONY SMITH, Designer/Producer at Multi-Media Corporation, NOLA

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Airlift Productions ~ Audio Alchemy from New Orleans since 1984

Airlift Mike Rings The Dinner Bell For N’awlins

Anna Mae's Restaurant Opening In Metairie
Anna Mae’s Restaurant Opening In Metairie at the same location as Legends Encore Night club

So, in a city internationally known for it’s incredible cuisine, exactly how do you put the spin on yet another entree into an already crowded field?

How do you make that new entree sizzle, bite, and cut through the clutter?

Keep it real.  Keep it honest.  

** Airlift Mike “Straight Talk” :30 for Anna Mae’s Restaurant **

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Airlift Productions’ Micheal Ziants putting in another day at the office

And just last night at the “Soft Opening” party, as I finished my last-bite-as-good-as-the-first of grilled chicken fettuccine alfredo, I had to admit that I sure knew what I was talking about.

Tasked to write, voice and produce a radio campaign to introduce a brand new restaurant is a pretty daunting challenge but I guess you could say that I really sank my teeth into it.

** Airlift Mike’s “Be Anna-mazed” radio :30 **

And adding a piece of real bluesy Clapton-ish feel-good music, a few sound effects, and a clever turn of a phrase branding element sure does add some pepper to the pitch.

Oh, and we can’t leave out the desserts! While most folks talk of calorie-laden, decadent-sounding desserts using the phrase “to die for”, at Anna Mae’s we take a different tactic…

Along with an intro at the top that pokes a bit of fun at the phone-obsessed texting crowd that just can’t seem to tear themselves away from their last message or entry.

** Airlift Mike talks “Just Desserts” for Anna Mae’s **

In fact, the only thing I enjoyed more than coming up with the ideas, writing and producing these radio spots … was actually EATING there at Anna Mae’s.

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So, brunch, lunch or dinner, if you can’t catch me around the Airlift Productions Studios … you’ll know where to find me.

Airlift Productions ~ Audio Alchemy from NOLA since 1984

Spring Is Busting OUT All Over At Airlift Productions

AirliftProductionsSpringFlowersIt would appear that seeds sown through countless past seasons have now rooted, grown and indeed blossomed. Too flowery? Too poetic?  Not so much.  Run with me here…

While Airlift Productions clients of last century found Airlift & me via the Yellow Pages (“let your fingers do the walking…”), this Spring’s flowers have all been delivered through SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and that wacky Internet of Things.  Really.

Don Draper & Roger Sterling, those dashing Mad Men, would not even recognize the marketing landscape of today! And audio/video production crews of the 1970s and ’80s wouldn’t even have a clue as to what’s going down in 2015.

Through the Airlift Productions website and this blog, imagine the fascinating and interesting jobs produced already this Spring from the Airlift Productions studios here in NOLA —–

Jeorjina Tegel, the right-hand hands-on exec at Right Hat on this job. Thanks for your help, Jeorjina
Jeorjina Tegel, the right-hand hands-on exec at Right Hat on this job. Thanks for your help, Jeorjina.  To call this gig ‘interesting’ would be a gross understatement.

The call came just weeks ago from Elonide, the President of a Boston & Chicago-based Ad Agency, Right Hat, for some help – the job? A :30 radio ad, which would be overseen by the writer Andy, who lives in Manhattan… the spot would be voiced by four different voice actors (all working from their respective home studios), and yours truly was contracted to produce and engineer the finished spot (for a CPA firm) to air – in San Francisco!

All sound a bit confusing? Well, it certainly was ‘out there’ and different. The commercial involved EIGHTEEN cuts/edits – in a thirty second radio ad – and multiple attempts to find the just-right music.

And the entire job … from NOLA to Chicago to NYC to San Francisco began … with a Google/Bing search by Elonide at the helm of Right Hat

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Airlift Productions records “The Boys Who Challenged Hitler” for Recorded Books, New York

Just two weeks ago, the Airlift Studios were really buzzing, as we phone-patched between NOLA and NYC (from the Big Apple to the Big Easy) to record the Audio Book “The Boys Who Challenged Hitler: Knud Pedersen & the Churchill Club”.

Contracted by Recorded Books in NYC,  the world’s largest independent distributor of audio books to libraries, schools & the retail market, Airlift Productions warmed-up the mics to record the book’s author Phil Hoose, as he interpreted the words of it’s hero.

Imagine, if you can, 1940s Danish teens, upset by Denmark’s neutral stance, who decide to take on the Gestapo, the Nazis and the 3rd Reich all by themselves … and spearhead Danish resistance. Wow! What a story.

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Author PHIL HOOSE records “The Boys Who Challenged Hitler” at Airlift Productions NOLA April 2015

The sessions ran nine hours across two days, and all the wave files were directed via the Airlift phone-patch and neatly dropped back into Manhattan via an FTP site for use by their editors.

And Andy & his gang at Recorded Books found Airlift and me via the internet and a Google search.  As he let his ‘fingers do the walking’ – 21st century style.

Finally, just this past week, the call came into the Airlift Studios from Denver and a big post-production house called High Noon Entertainment.  These guys are the driving force behind many of your fave shows from TLC, Discovery, HGTV, Animal Planet & …. well, you get the idea.

As it turns out, the hot new show on The Cooking Channel is a fun one called “Taco Trip”, and it’s star, another fun one himself, is a close buddy & business partner with our NOLA chef John Besh.  And he needed to record VoiceOver tracks for the show.

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The Cooking Channel’s AARON SANCHEZ cooks-up tasty VoiceOvers for TACO TRIP at Airlift Productions NOLA April 2015

Chef Aaron Sanchez blew in the Airlift Studio doors like a hurricane Wednesday morning, we set mic levels, then phone-patched between NOLA and Denver as producer Matt Walker walked the good chef through all his reads for the show.

Again, voila! Within the hour, all the big fat wave files were delivered to Denver, tagged & bagged and ready for air – on flat screens via cable & satellite on The Cooking Channel … all across America!

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Airlift Mike – like the local fireman down at the firehouse – ready to take the call

Yeah, I guess you could say that Spring is busting out all over at Airlift Productions.  And if these are the April showers … what will May bring?

Stay tuned ….

Airlift Productions & Airlift Mike ~ delivering the Goods … from New Orleans since 1984